MAY 5TH 2000

0900 EST

BRAVADO BEAUTY SALON

"Lt. Colonel Mackenzie?" The stylist moved towards Mac, holding out her hand. "I'm Candice, I'll be working with you today."

"You can call me Mac," she said, meeting Candice for a handshake.

"It's so great of you to agree to do this! The calendar is one of the biggest fundraisers for the foundation." She continued, motioning Mac to follow her.

Through all the arguing – with Harm and herself – Mac had almost forgotten that this was for a good cause. "Oh, well," she smiled, "I'm happy to do it. Thank you for having me here! I can't believe you're doing all of this for free," she said, sitting in a tall salon chair.

Candice shrugged, shaking out a folded cape, "It's the least I can do. My brother is – well, was - a marine, and the Semper-Fi Foundation gave him specialized equipment after he was injured in Bosnia six years ago," her demeanor casual; her words heavy.

Mac turned to meet Candice's eyes, "I served in Bosnia, too. I'm so sorry about your brother, Candice."

The stylist saw the sincerity in her client's gaze, "Thank you," Candice responded, reflecting the sentiment. "Now," she breathed, "let's start with your hair."

Mac smiled back, finally feeling assured and happy with her decision.

MAY 5TH 2000

1400 EST

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Hey, you're here!" Harm said, surprised when Mac walked into the break room. He couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth as his heart began racing.

She eyed him curiously, "Yeah, I'm here… I work here, Harm."

"No, I mean, I thought you took the day to get ready for your modeling debut," he smiled as he leaned against the counter and took a sip from his mug.

Mac sighed, her back turned to Harm as she poured herself a cup of coffee, not sure how to read his tone. "Yeah, one of the salons in town offered free services for the ladies doing the shoot, so I took them up on it this morning."

"Well, you look great, Mac." He said, his eyes flashing with desire.

She couldn't help but furrow her brow as she turned to face him, "I thought you were totally against this?" her confusion turning to irritation, "that I'm not 'that kind of girl.'" She narrowed her eyes, "Or am I?" Mac continued, "I don't remember where the verdict landed."

"Look, Mac," Harm began, swallowing his own frustration, "I'm sorry about Wednesday. It just threw me off guard, that's all." He tried to convince himself as well as Mac.

"That's all?!" She laughed, "I have been going over this in my head for days! You go from being pious, to jealous, to – supportive?" She continued, shaking her head, "God, I can't wait for this whole thing to be over." Mac breezed past him on her way out of the breakroom, barely missing Tiner as she turned the corner.

Tiner's eyebrows shot up as he walked into the room, his eyes on the Commander.

"What?!" Harm exclaimed. "All I did was tell her she looked good!"

MAY 5TH 2000

1930 EST

APARTMENT OF SARAH MACKENZIE

GEORGETOWN

Hearing about Candice's brother and all the things the foundation did with the funds it brought in reminded Mac that there was more to the calendar than sexy photos. It was almost enough to suppress the doubt she felt about why she agreed in the first place. She wondered if there were other ways she could get involved with the foundation when her thoughts were interrupted.

"Hi, Mic," she sighed into the receiver, the routine beginning to wear on her.

"How's my favorite calendar girl?" He smiled.

It wasn't the first time she wished she could forget the whole situation. It felt like her life had revolved around this calendar for the past three days. She couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh, "Honestly, Mic, I'm getting kind of sick of all this calendar stuff, can we talk about something else?"

"That's fine, luv." She relaxed at his quick response but wasn't surprised when his voice turned dark and heavy. "So, what are you wearing?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Jeans and a t-shirt. And I'm not really in the mood for anything that involves less clothing than that." Mac pushed down her irritation as she swallowed and lay back against her headboard, "Are you working on any big cases right now?"

"I've got one that's proving a bit tricky. Defending a bloke who was absent without leave. Said he confirmed it with his XO but the paperwork never got filed. Otherwise, the usual - conduct unbecoming and insubordinance."

It was a moment before she responded, "Pretty much the same here."

"I thought you said you had a big court martial coming up? Or did the Lieutenant take a deal?"

"Oh yeah, the Lamar case," she let out a huff, her voice suddenly taking on steam, "Harm's defending and won't even begin to consider settling, so we'll be in court all week."

"Aw, that's too bad, but don't worry, luv, you'll get him next time."

Mac was taken aback, "What's that supposed to mean? We haven't even started the trial and you think I'm going to lose?"

"No! Sarah, it's just that if Rabb won't take a deal, he probably has a good case."

"Yeah, well maybe so do I." She sat back up. Wasn't her boyfriend supposed to give her the benefit of the doubt?

"C'mon luv, you know I can't stand the guy, but he's a damn good lawyer."

She let out a gasp. He knows close to nothing about the case and doesn't think I can beat Harm? "You know what, I don't want to talk about Ha – work right now."

"Well, that's rich, Mac," Mic's patience had finally run out. "All you've done today is tell me what you don't want to talk about. Is there anything you do want to discuss?"

"You know what, Mic," she shook her head, "there isn't." Her voice took on a sarcastic tone, "I'm sorry I don't want to talk about calendar photos or have phone sex with you while you're on your lunch break. I'm done talking." Mac finished as she slammed the phone onto the bedside table, only to have it immediately start ringing. "Mic, I told you, I am DONE talking!" she snapped.

"Mac?" Came the voice on the other end before she could slam the phone back down.

"Harm?" she said, glancing at the caller ID.

"Yeah, is everything ok?" She recognized his 'should-I-be-concerned' voice.

"You tell me, Harm," she sighed, "Why are you calling at 1956 on a Friday?" Mac hoped to deflect from her initial greeting.

"Well, I wanted to see if I could make you dinner tomorrow." He nervously waited for her response.

"Why would you want to have dinner with me, Harm? We've been fighting all week." Her voice softening.

"As a peace offering for Wednesday… as far as the rest of the week goes, I wasn't fighting." He couldn't help but point out that he hadn't meant to provoke an outburst that morning.

Mac glared straight ahead. He was a good cook… and she did deserve an apology for Wednesday… But she didn't feel like trekking to his place for vegetarian whatever.

Just when he was about to give up, she responded. "Make it Chinese from Szechuan House at my place and you have a deal."

Harm let out a breath as his lips curved into full-blown grin, "Yes, ma'am. I'll see you at 1900."